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Shares of drug distributors McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and AmerisourceBergen Corp were marginally lower. The testimony came in a civil case brought by Cabell County and the city of Huntington that accuses AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. Separately, Abbott said its check would even be out there at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Walmart Inc in the next few days and could be offered in packs containing two assessments each for $23.Ninety nine per pack. Walgreens Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe stated during a post earnings call on Wednesday. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge on Monday sued Walgreens, accusing the pharmacy chain of fueling the opioid disaster in the state by filling a lot of suspicious orders for painkillers. The lawsuit accuses Walgreens of not doing sufficient to safeguard towards suspicious prescriptions being crammed, leading to to a large amount of opioids being distributed round Arkansas. Arkansas in 2019 had the second highest opioid dispensing of any state, at 80.9 prescriptions for every 100 individuals, increased than the nationwide average of 46.7, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Almost half 1,000,000 Americans died in overdoses from both prescription and illegal opioids between 1999 and 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Arthritis Pain Relief – Herbal Teas :: Arthritis is usually a debilitating disease. Deficiencies in serotonin availability have been linked to depression, anxiety, irregular appetite, aggression and pain sensation. Was prescribed tablets to help deal with the ache. Percussive therapy is claimed to assist muscles get well quicker whereas lowering muscle ache, muscle fatigue and lactic acid buildup. Drug addicts are people who stay in hostels or on park benches and beg on the street. Opioids, a category of drugs that includes prescription painkillers comparable to OxyContin and Vicodin in addition to illicit ones such as heroin and illegally produced fentanyl, have been linked to greater than 470,000 deaths in the U.S.
Amazon Pharmacy is concentrated on making at-house supply pharmacy easier and more convenient for purchasers,’ the spokesperson stated. The Farm Bill legalized “hemp,” which the legislation defined as cannabis that incorporates no more than 0.3% THC, nationwide. Better nonetheless, in some instances you do not want an appointment – simply pop into your local Boots retailer and chat to a member of the pharmacy crew. The transfer was built on its 2018 acquisition of PillPack, which Amazon stated would stay separate and cater to prospects who need pre-sorted doses of a number of drugs. Amazon has been trying to enter the pharmacy market since its 2018 acquisition of PillPack, which is a platform used by customers who need pre-sorted doses of a number of medication. CNBC, which first reported the corporate was winding down, stated many initiatives designed by Haven had been executed separately by the three corporations, eliminating the need for a joint venture. Haven stated on Monday the three firms would in the future collaborate informally to design programs tailored to address the specific wants of their own staff. Piloted in September 2019 for workers close to its Seattle headquarters, “Amazon Care” lets workers video-chat with docs for diagnoses and referrals. Judge Paul Malloy ordered Brandenburg to be released on a $10,000 signature bond, surrender his firearms, not work in health care and haven’t any contact with Aurora staff.
These endocannabinoids, as they’re known as, work like neurotransmitters, shuttling messages by means of the body to assist maintain homeostasis. That stated, CBD is exhibiting promise. Cannabinoids like CBD and THC work together with the endocannabinoid system at two recognized receptors: CB1 and CB2. Forged prescriptions at work – leading to her being struck off as a nurse. A coroner has slammed the dangers of being in a position to purchase prescription medicine on-line after a nurse by accident took a fatal overdose of codeine she purchased over the web with out telling her GP. Perhaps being too heavy-handed with a delicious dinner or a flux in hormones that dissipates after just a few days? However, a few naturally occurring trans-fatty acids are healthy. A prognosis of schizoaffective disorder should be made only when each particular schizophrenic and particular affective signs are distinguished concurrently, or inside a few days of one another, inside the same episode of sickness, and when, as a consequence of this, the episode of sickness doesn’t meet criteria for either schizophrenia or a depressive or manic episode. But her signs soon ramped up. CVS said it was providing exams from Australian diagnostic take a look at maker Ellume, Abbott Laboratories and LabCorp that do not require a prescription and could be used by people with or with out signs. Dr Max Pemberton believes Steve Arnott’s addiction to prescription painkillers in Line Of Responsibility lifts the lid on a problem that is never discussed.


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Facebook could pay millions of pounds in UK tax after approving fundamental changes to its corporate structure in Europe.
Starting in April, the world’s largest social network will change its policy so that revenue generated from its largest advertisers displaying content on Facebook will be routed through the UK rather than Ireland. The change is expected to generate higher taxable profits in Britain and forms part of the US company’s plan to mitigate criticism of tax avoidance.
Facebook said: “On Monday we will start notifying large UK customers that from the start of April they will receive invoices from Facebook UK and not Facebook Ireland.”
The company added that the move had been planned for some time. Where Facebook UK deals with advertisers directly “adding value” to the transaction, advising companies and planning ads, it will invoice through the UK. Facebook’s largest advertising customers in Britain include Tesco and Sainsbury’s as well as major advertising buyer WPP.
Smaller businesses that use the social network’s online ad-buying tools will still be invoiced through Facebook Ireland, which will remain the company’s international headquarters handling all business outside of North America.
Facebook stated in its 28 January 2016 filing with the US securities and exchange commission that “the majority of our marketers use our self-service ad platform to establish accounts and to launch and manage their advertising campaigns”.
But the company has more than 35 sales offices around the world, including the UK, while Facebook also works with traditional advertising agencies.
The change is expected to see Facebook UK generate significantly higher revenues and therefore pay a higher level of corporation tax, which is levied at 20%. Its first increased bill will arrive next year.
Meg Hillier MP, public accounts committee chair, said: “The public accounts committee has long made the point that multinational companies are not passive subjects of international tax rules.
“They choose how to structure their tax affairs and must acknowledge responsibility for those choices. In some cases this involves using complicated tax structures specifically designed to minimise their tax bills.”
The UK represents less than 10% of Facebook’s global revenue, but the company reiterated that its operations in the country, which include more than 850 staff, remained an important part of the business. The company is building a new headquarters in London, while the UK contributes to some of its most ambitious projects, including its solar-powered drone development.
Facebook said: “In light of changes to tax law in the UK, we felt this change would provide transparency to Facebook’s operations in the UK. The new structure is easier to understand and clearly recognises the value our UK organisation adds to our sales through our highly skilled and growing UK sales team.”
A Treasury spokesperson said: “The chancellor introduced the world’s first diverted profits tax to ensure multinationals change their behaviour, rather than artificially shifting profits out of the UK. We can see it is already starting to have an impact.”
But the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said the shift meant “little or no real substantive change at this time”, while the Liberal Democrats’ Baroness Kramer called for a “fundamental rethink of this discredited system” of corporation tax.
McDonnell said: “This government must wake up to the scale of the corporate tax abuse scandal in the UK. It’s time George Osborne pushed ahead with full country-by-country reporting so that we can finally get to the bottom of what is owed to taxpayers.”
The company faced criticism after it was revealed it paid just £4,327 in corporation tax in 2014, despite its UK staff taking home an average of £210,000 in the same period, receiving more than £35m in a share bonus scheme and pushing Facebook UK into an accounting loss of £28.5m.
Oxfam’s head of inequality Nick Bryer said: “Paying tax shouldn’t be a voluntary option. The world’s poorest nations are hardest hit by corporate tax dodging - losing at least $100bn every year that could pay for hospitals and schools. We need action to ensure all multinationals report their profits and taxes in every country where they operate.”
Facebook did not disclose the sum of its ad revenue that would now be invoiced through the UK. Margaret Hodge, former Public Accounts Committee chair, said that an investigation into Google’s similar ad-sales arrangements showed that only 1% of its ads were sold offline, but that they accounted for approximately 60% of the company’s revenue in the UK.Hillier said: “The work of the public accounts committee and continuing high levels of public anger about the behaviour of some corporations have done much to move these issues up the political agenda. We will see the effects of Facebook’s new arrangements in due course.”
HMRC, which spent £27,000 on adverts with Facebook in the past year, would not comment on the particulars of the social network’s tax arrangements. A spokesperson said: “We will closely examine any business’s structure on behalf of the British public to make absolutely sure they pay all the tax due to the UK. The new diverted profits tax will ensure the UK gets its fair share of tax from a multinational’s profits by making them restructure to stop shifting profits overseas.”
Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, one of Facebook’s biggest clients, described the social network’s change as “a good move”.
The social network has just under 1.6 billion monthly active users, 83% of whom are based outside the US and Canada. According to data from Emarketer, there are approximately 32 million Facebook users in the UK.
Fellow US company Google has also been criticised for its tax arrangements. It agreed to pay £130m in back taxes in January, but the figure included a quarter of the sum related to Google’s company share options scheme.
Facebook and others have come under fire for suspected data protection law violations across Europe, most recently in Germany where the Federal Cartel Office launched an investigation into suspicions of abuse of market share and the national privacy law.

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Jake Paul's Insane 'Problem Child' Diamond Chain Is Worth $225K!
Jake Paul Cops Insane $225k Diamond Chain ... 'Problem Child!!!'
12/18/2021 12:15 AM PT
Jake Paul is lettin' it be known he has no issue with being the "Problem Child" -- 'cause he turned his nickname into an insane diamond chain -- that's worth $225,000!!!
The YouTuber debuted the ice at his pre-fight event with Tyron Woodley on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. -- and TMZ Sports has learned it's an absolutely gaudy piece.
We're told Paul hit up his old pals at BlueMoon and Co. in Los Angeles to put the bling together ... and they pulled out all the stops for it.
In addition to the words "Prblm Child" written in diamonds on the front of the pendant ... the ice also has his full name inscribed on the back. There's also a spinning star on top.
We're told the chain is infused with 95 carats of VS quality diamonds and 14k of gold -- and in total it weighs a pound (545 grams)!
The whole thing is handmade by the company ... and we're told it's all valued at $225K.
Of course, the bling wasn't the only thing screamin' money during Paul's presser with Woodley -- JP also had a Most Valuable Boxer belt with him, which he says is worth $500K!
So, yeah ... whether he wins or loses tonight on the scorecard, Jake is still definitely winning.


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With the release of the new iPad this month, Apple enthusiasts endured the usual long lines just to be among the first ones to lay their hands on the latest Apple tablet. Following its release, everyone is curious to find out how the sales turned out.
Apple first declined to give the exact figures but eventually revealed that it has sold 3 million units of the new iPad after just 3 days in the market, making another impressive record.
In 2010, Apple has sold around 300,000 units of the iPad 1 on the first day of its release. The technology giant, however, didn’t provide any sales number for the iPad 2 the following year but admitted that it was also a huge success.
The new iPad offers a number of better features. But some iPad users are not very keen on replacing their old tablets for the new iPad, saying the features aren’t impressive enough. Impressive or not, one thing is certain, the new iPad’s astounding record sales proved another success for Apple.


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Nayatel, one of the leading telecommunication companies in Pakistan, has partnered with ExitLag to bring one of the best network and ping optimization solutions to Pakistani gamers at a fantastic price.
Almost every Pakistani gamer is familiar with this scenario – you are playing a competitive match and find yourself in a clutch situation. Right as you are about to engage the enemy, your connection suffers from ping spikes and packet loss, and you end up losing the fight.
Online gaming has always been a struggle for Pakistanis. The reason for this is poorly optimized routing and a lack of local game servers. For decades, the Pakistani gamer has longed for a solution that would allow them to enjoy games as the rest of the world does.
ExitLag is a widely known solution that navigates game traffic through a special network of global servers, lowering the ping and stabilizing the connection.
By partnering up with ExitLag, Nayatel has taken the first step in its quest to give Pakistani gamers a platform and opportunity to explore their talent and potentially an esports career in the future. What’s more, the service is available nationwide for both Nayatel and non-Nayatel users.
Nayatel makes ExitLag accessible to everyone by offering multiple plans at a much lower cost than the global prices with 30-50% savings. Nayatel users can get plans as low as Rs. 699 per month while non-Nayatel users get plans as low as Rs. 899 per month.
Experience lag-free gaming like never before. For detailed pricing and subscriptions, visit https://nayatel.com/exitlag/.


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Two of our new frozen-yogurt spots are celebrating openings this weekend.
First, YoYogurt opened the doors of its second location inside three months at 8816 N. Union Blvd. today.
See what Monika Mitchell Randall thought of her visit to the original 5885 Stetson Hills Blvd. location here.
Next, Lulu's Frozen Yogurt, though it opened its doors back in May, is finally getting around to celebrating its grand opening from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, June 11.
Catch face painting, music, games, giveaways and free samples, with a $1 suggested donation to the March of Dimes, at its 9475 Briar Village Point #152 location.


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While the moving pictures in Harry Potter newspapers are magic, a breakthrough in display technology could make paper-thin, disposable e-readers a reality. DNA reports that University of Cincinnati researchers may soon come up with disposable e-reading devices that, in theory, could perform actions similar to an Amazon Kindle, but on actual paper.
Andrew Steckl, an engineering researcher at the university, discovered the new paper-based display technology. Along with UC doctoral student Duk Young Kim, Steckl demonstrated that paper can be used as a flexible material for an electrowetting device. Electrowetting involves applying an electric current to millions of tiny droplets within a display to form images, much like how thousands of pixels make up computer and HDTV screens. Previously, glass was needed for electrowetting.
“Nothing looks better than paper for reading,” said Steckl. “We hope to have something that would actually look like paper but behave like a computer monitor in terms of its ability to store information. We would have something that is very cheap, very fast, full-color and at the end of the day or the end of the week, you could pitch it into the trash.”
E Ink, the technology used in Amazon’s Kindle and other e-reader devices, is a main competitor, but Steckl argues that electrowetting is up to 10 times faster than E Ink and could produce refresh rates high enough to reasonably play moving video, something that current E Ink technology has a difficult time with. He also believes that hard-screened E Ink devices are too expensive and fragile. However, E Ink has a bit of a head start. It may be three to five years before Electrowetting e-paper makes its first commercial appearance.
Now, all we can hope is that our moving e-paper will look more like those at Hogwarts and less like the constantly singing cereal boxes in Minority Report. No one wants to listen to Toucan Sam follow his every time they open the cupboard.
- Take $30 off the all-new Kindle Paperwhite on Amazon for Valentine’s Day
- The most genre-defying, computer-redefining laptops of 2018
- The 10 best computer reading glasses to help reduce eye strain
- New Boox Note Pro is all the ebook reading device you’ll ever need
- Lenovo patent hints at a future tablet with a folding screen


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Today, Mark Gurman said in the subscriber-only QnA section of his Power On newsletter that iOS 18 will be the biggest update in Apple’s iPhone history. He writes, “I’m told that the new operating system is seen within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates — if not the biggest — in the company’s history.”
Gurman confirmed that he will share particular iOS 18 features as well as changes in the future. But MacRumors, a big Apple news cover website, mentioned in the post that they already know two features that are expected to be coming with the iOS 18 update.
Expected Features of iOS 18
1. RCS Support: The first feature that is expected to come with the iOS 18 update is RCS support. Last year, in November, Apple announced that the iMessage app will support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS on the iPhone in 2024, which means you can use all the RCS between Android and iPhone.
As we know, if we message from iPhone to iPhone, then we see the blue bubble that was introduced by Apple in 2011. On the other hand, if an Android user messages an iPhone user then his message is shown in a green bubble. Also, Android users have limited features if we compare it with Apple’s iMessage. Nothing came forward with their Nothing Chats app but they failed to do that. They do this with Sunbird app developers. But later we came to know that the chats are not encrypted.
Now, let’s discuss how your messaging experience between Android and iPhone improves the experience.
- Audio messages: You can send voice messages from an Android phone to an iPhone.
- Typing indicators: As we know, when we send a message from iPhone to iPhone, then when any of the iPhone users type, we will see the typing indicator.
- Read Receipt: With this, you can know whether the receiver has read your message or not.
- Wi-Fi messaging between Android and iPhones: You can also message between both Android and iPhone devices with Wi-Fi as well.
- High-resolution photos and videos: As we know, till now we could not send high-resolution photos and videos between Android and iPhone, but from iOS 18, you can send high-quality resolution photos and videos from Android to iPhone.
- More Encrypted messages: You will get improved encryption of your messages if you compare it with SMS.
- Improved Group Chats: The group chats will also be improved.
- Leaving a conversation for Android Users: As we know, iPhone users can leave a conversation. So, Android users will also get the same functionality.
The above-listed features are already available when an iPhone user messages another iPhone user (blue bubble). But Apple will extend the RCS support for the green bubble i.e. Android in the Messages app. These features are already available in third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, and Whatsapp.
2. Smarter Siri: A report by Bloomberg suggested that in the upcoming iOS 18, we will see the generative AI technology. Both i.e. iPhone’s Messaging app and Siri use AI for your asked questions and to auto-complete your sentences as well. According to Gurman, Apple has also explored generative AI features for other apps over its platforms such as Apple Music, Keynote, Xcode, and Pages.
The information also reported that Apple is planning to include large language models into Siri. So, that users can automate their difficult tasks, it may be integrated into the Shortcuts app. As per a report, this feature is expected to come in the iOS 18 which is going to be launched this year.
As we know, the new version of iOS will be launched at WWDC every year in June. The stable release of iOS 18 will be in September, but the first beta is expected to be released in June as usual.
What do you guys think? Do these features come with iOS 18? Do let us know in the comment box. Also, tell us whether you like this post or not.
Featured Image Courtesy: ReDesigns (YouTube)
iQOO Z9 Appears on Geekbench – Few Specifications Revealed
iQOO, a subbrand of Vivo, which is a Chinese Smartphone Manufacturing company is going to launch its upcoming iQOO Z9 smartphone in India very soon has recently appeared on the Geekbench. The upcoming iQOO Z9 is packed with 8GB RAM.
Moreover, if we talk about the Operating System, then the phone comes with FuntouchOS 14 based on Android 14 out of the box. The codename for the motherboard of iQOO Z9 is denoted as ‘k6886v1_64’ in the Geekbench. The phone is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7200 chipset.
The model number of the phone is identified as Vivo I2302. The Vivo I2302 model number has already been certified by Bluetooth SIG and BIS certification. If we talk about the scores, then Vivo l2302 has a Single-Core score of 1186 and a Multi-Core score of 2683.
The MediaTek Dimensity 7200 was released in February 2023 (last year). Redmi Note 13 Pro +, Nothing Phone (2a) (upcoming), Vivo V27, iQoo Z7 Pro, Vivo T2 Pro, Vivo S17e, and Vivo S18e are some of the phones that are also powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7200 processor. According to rumors, the iQOO Z9 comes with a 1.5K OLED display.
Until now, the charging watt is revealed yet but if we talk about the battery capacity, then the battery capacity is 6000 mAh. There are two prototype designs, one showed a dual square-shaped camera module. If we talk about the second design, then it shows a dual circular-shaped camera module which we are getting on OnePlus Nord 3, Nord CE 3, and Nord CE 3 Lite. iQOO Z9 is expected to be launched by the first half of 2024.
Are you guys interested in the upcoming iQOO Z9 smartphone? Do let us know in the comment box. Also, tell us whether you like this post or not.
Job Simulator & Vacation Simulator Coming Soon to Apple Vision Pro
Job Simulator & Vacation Simulator are one of the popular simulation games which can be played in a VR (Virtual Reality) headset. Until now, these both are available on PlayStation VR and Meta Quest.
UploadVR, a Unity website has already confirmed that Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator will be available for the Vision Pro. This is because Unity is hosting a round table for developers who are interested in bringing their games in the visionOS. The description of the event arranges how Owlchemy Studios is uainf Unity to port its games to the Apple Vision Pro.
Join us for a roundtable on February 27, 2024 at 11:30 am ET / 8:30 am PT to learn how cross-industry experts used Unity’s visionOS Support to create games, apps, and spatial experiences for Apple Vision Pro. […] Hear how Owlchemy Studios brought their popular titles, Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator, over in the fully immersive (VR) space,” the event description reads.
Recently, Apple has confirmed that more than 1,000 apps are specially designed for Apple’s VR headset i.e. Vision Pro. But whenever it comes to VR games, there are only a few games that are available for the Apple Vision Pro. Moreover, Vision Pro can run iPad games as well, but if we talk about the experience, then with some games the interaction is not as good as they run in a 2D window.
If more VR games are available in the VisionOS App Store, then it will help Apple to boost interest in the Apple Vision Pro as a game console. Apple has its own RealityKit API. Additionally, the visionOS SDK also supports Unity frameworks, a common engine for building 3D games.
When Apple’s VR headset, Vision Pro was announced at WWDC 2023 in June, then in that event, Apple also highlighted that developers can easily port their existing Unity-created projects to visionOS. Both Apple and Unity have been working together to build and improve these tools.
Unity’s PolySpatial technology was launched last month for Unity Pro, Industry, and Enterprise subscribers. With this new PolySpatial technology, developers can make apps for cross-platform XR (extended reality).
Are you guys interested for the Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator that will be available in the visionOS App Store? If yes, then do let us know in the comment box. Also, tell us whether you like this post or not.
Featured Image also taken from uploadvr.com
OnePlus 12R 256GB variant customers can now request for refund – Here are the details
Recently, OnePlus confirmed that both variants of the OnePlus 12R come with UFS 3.1 storage type and now, we have further information regarding the same. Newly, Kinder Liu, the President and CEO of OnePlus has posted a new thread in the OnePlus Community in which he mentioned that if you have a OnePlus 12R 256GB variant you only purchase the phone just because of UFS 4.0 storage type, then you can request a refund for that.
How to request for Refund for the OnePlus 12R 256GB variant?
To get a refund for the 256GB variant of the OnePlus 12R, you just have to contact Customer Service through your usual channel. After that, they will tell you the steps to get a refund As they know the entire situation. Giving a refund is a good step taken by OnePlus. Previously, they gave a free lifetime warranty for the Green Line/Lines on the display of OnePlus smartphones.
Note: The refund of the OnePlus 12R is applicable in India until 16 March 2024 i.e. one month for the 256GB variant (higher one).
Still, OnePlus has confidence that the OnePlus 12R lives up to high expectations. After all, the OnePlus 12R has the features of Trinity Engine that were announced on the launch. Liu has also confirmed that the OnePlus 12R was fully certified by TUV SUD using UFS 3.1 memory and it is certified to remain fluent for 48 months i.e. up to 4 years.
OnePlus 12R is the same phone which is launched in OnePlus Ace 3 China. But in China, all three variants i.e. (12GB and 256 GB, 16GB and 512 GB, and 16GB and 1 TB) of the OnePlus Ace 3 come with UFS 4.0 storage type.
Do you own a OnePlus 12R 256GB variant and will you take a refund for your OnePlus 12R? Do let us know in the comment box. Also, tell us whether you like this post or not.


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SPECIAL PROMOTIONS SECTION
People on the Move
Jim Losik, Magellan Development Group
Magellan Development Group, Chicago
Magellan Development Group, Chicago's premier real estate development company, is pleased to announce that Jim Losik has joined the company as its National Marketing Director. In this capacity, Losik will oversee all marketing efforts in Chicago and throughout the country as Magellan expands its residential and retail portfolios.


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As Yahoo continues to position a greater share of its business in the mobile space, it has formed another partnership with a major wireless carrier.
On Thursday Yahoo announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with T-Mobile to provide display advertising on the carrier’s Web ‘n’ Walk Internet service in the United Kingdom.
“We are focused on extending our leadership in both display advertising and in mobile services, and this new partnership demonstrates our continued momentum,” a Yahoo spokesperson wrote in an e-mail to InternetNews.com.
Under the agreement, Yahoo will become the exclusive provider of graphical ads on the T-Mobile Internet service in the U.K. The two companies expect the ads to go live in the first half of this year.
In November 2006, Yahoo brokered a similar ad partnership in the U.K. with Vodafone. Together, the deals give Yahoo exclusive advertising rights to two of Britain’s top five wireless carriers.
The advertising deal is the first major news from Yahoo on the mobile front since the first week of January, when the company outlined several initiatives for enhancing Web content on wireless devices.
The announcement included a mobile-widget program aimed at bringing in more content and Web applications from third parties.
“We’re committed to creating the best and richest mobile experience for all consumers, making it extremely personalized to their individual style and needs while opening up the Yahoo mobile platform to allow anyone to participate,” Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang said in his keynote address at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Last March Yahoo signaled its commitment to the wireless market with the launch of the Mobile Publisher Services platform, a suite of services aimed at brokering deals between publishers and advertisers looking to cash in on the fast-growing mobile sector.
Mobile deals don’t end with advertising, however. Yahoo, long hailed as the portal king, has signed numerous agreements with wireless carriers in Europe, Latin America and Asia to make its OneSearch the default home page for subscribers who surf the Web on their handset.
Yahoo does not currently have exclusive advertising or content partnerships with any wireless carrier in the United States, but the company has been working actively with all major providers to stake a claim in the U.S. market.


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TCO Development: Navigating the Sustainable IT Revolution
As companies continue on the path to sustainability and CIOs begin to demand sustainable IT sourcing, it may be time we lift the curtain to the risks and the often-overlooked human cost behind IT sourcing. IT supply chains can be riddled with exposure to labour law violations, unsafe working conditions, harmful emissions, and toxic waste streams.
A Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) coordinated global review of randomly selected websites has so far found that 40% of green claims made online could be misleading consumers.
Exaggerated, unverified sustainability claims and industry-wide greenwashing increases brand risk and add to the challenges faced by those looking to drive authentic sustainability and ethical procurement.
Released today, the company behind the sustainability certification for IT products TCO Certified, TCO Development, has launched a new report – 'Navigating the Sustainable IT Revolution, The critical role of independent verification'.
Offering insights based on the experience with TCO Certified, along with expert voices from policy officials, NGOs, scientists, factory auditors, product testing, and procurement, the report helps IT buyers identify and understand the sustainability risks associated with IT procurement, how to avoid use independent verification organisations to avoid green/blue washing and false claims. The report also helps you to find an ecolabel with rigorous verification standards and three key questions to ask suppliers.
"The millions of workers in the supply chain often face poverty wages, dangerous and unsafe working conditions, and stand without social protections. This has clearly been identified within electronics and IT," says Parul Sharma, CEO of the Academy for Human Rights in Business, who has contributed to the report.
"It's critical that organisations get independent proof of environmental and supply chain impacts connected to the products they source. Reputations, stakeholder credibility and accuracy, are on the line more than ever," says Clare Hobby, Director Purchaser Engagement, Global at TCO Development.
"With our Impacts and Insights report, we want to give purchasers the tools for avoiding the common risks of relying on greenwash and false product claims. Getting proof of what's actually happening in the IT supply chain gives any organisation the confidence to stand behind their sustainability efforts," Clare Hobby concludes.
About TCO Certified:
With over 30 years of experience, TCO Certified is the world-leading sustainability certification for IT products. Their comprehensive criteria are designed to drive social and environmental responsibility throughout the product life cycle. Covering 11 product categories, including displays, computers and mobile devices, compliance is independently verified, both pre and post-certification.
A Watershed Moment for Sustainability Commitments
Last month saw a landmark ruling where Royal Dutch Shell was instructed to significantly step up its 2030 climate commitments and slash absolute emissions by 45% compared to 2019 levels. This ruling represents a considerable advance on Shell’s stated aim to cut 45% of its emissions intensity compared to 2016 levels by 2035 – a target which provided leeway for increasing emissions as long as the relative carbon emitted per unit of energy produced fell. Now, this imposes a much larger climate obligation on Shell in calling for an urgent absolute reduction.
A ruling that sent ripples through the oil, gas, and energy sector
A watershed moment, this ruling is sure to cause significant alarm amongst fellow oil and gas giants who recognise – for perhaps the first time – that national courts can compel organisations to accelerate their reduction of harmful emissions under the Paris Agreement. Not only does it have "far-reaching" consequences for Shell itself and may even curb the potential growth of the company, but the decision is also likely to set a legal precedent for other energy companies and corporations. According to Thom Wetzer from Oxford University, who heads up the sustainable law programme: “all companies in the energy industry and all heavy emitters will be put on notice and have to accelerate their decarbonisation plans.”
This court mandate applies to not only the Shell group’s own operations but notably also to all the suppliers and customers of the group – strongly implying that Shell is being asked to tackle its Scope 3 emissions. Consequently, it is clear that Shell cannot meet the ruling’s demands alone; to make an impact across all carbon emissions scopes, Shell and other large businesses must immediately look towards forging new, productive partnerships with supplier stakeholders. Failing to do this not only means missed targets and mounting legislative action but also the reputational damage that this will cause to its brand and the company.
Activist investor warns of existential business risk
Reports on the Shell ruling were almost immediately followed by news of a coup attempt in American oil and gas corporation Exxon Mobil. Due to concerns surrounding Exxon’s strategic direction, hedge fund Engine No. 1 ousted sitting board members, stating that the climate crisis poses an "existential threat to the business", which the board has been reluctant to confront.
This small hedge fund accused Exxon of "a failure to take even initial steps towards evolution" and of "obfuscating rather than addressing long-term business risk", partly due to a historical lack of energy industry experience in Exxon’s board. This signalled an imminent shift in the company’s sustainability strategy, which was well received by the market, with Exxon’s shares rising 1.2% the day after the event.
The drive to reduce Scope 3 emissions
And if that wasn’t enough of a shakeup, this was followed by American multinational energy corporation Chevron’s shareholders voting 61% in favour of a proposal to cut Scope 3 emissions at their AGM, signalling frustration with the company’s slack approach towards climate change. Chevron has thus far failed to match its competitors’ net-zero targets with any commitments of its own.
For those less familiar, corporate emissions fall into three categories: Scope 1, 2, and 3. Scope 1 covers emissions from sources that an organisation directly owns or controls. Scope 2 refers to emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling that the reporting company consumes over the course of its operations. And Scope 3 is everything else – all other indirect emissions that occur within an organisation’s value chain, both up and downstream.
Why is this significant? Until now, Scope 3’s heady combination of difficult-to-manage and thus far easy-to-ignore has led large companies to abdicate responsibility for their value chain and sweep its emissions under the carpet. However, the Shell ruling indicates that this approach is no longer viable for big business. With courts stepping in and dictating climate policy to corporations as well as governments, the pressure is mounting on all heavy emitters to tackle their true impact and reduce Scope 3 emissions.
As organisations like Shell, Chevron and Exxon are considered responsible for the actions of their entire ecosystems, sustainability performance becomes contingent on supplier behaviour. The clearest example of this lies in Scope 3 emissions which, for many organisations, considerably exceeds the CO2 they emit directly.
Therefore, the time for green-washing and lip service is now over as pressure mounts from all stakeholder groups for large corporates to take decisive action on sustainability in the supply chain. However, businesses cannot turn promises into concrete progress without actively collaborating with stakeholders across the value chain.
For every five weeks that pass, we lose 1% of the decade
2030, the deadline for achievement of UN SDG-related climate commitments, is fast looming, and with every five weeks that pass, we lose 1% of the decade. The imperative to take immediate action has never been clearer. It’s now down to procurement, wider business leaders, and their associated supplier ecosystems to put sustainability strategy into action by:
● Defining, aligning, and communicating their corporate sustainability goals to focus suppliers, partners and the wider stakeholder groups on how they can make an impact.
● Collaborating systematically through technology using transparent processes that develop trust with suppliers and partners.
● Harnessing the innovation and IP within the supplier ecosystem, turning ideas into projects that can be managed and reported on transparently, and adding clear value trackers to prove impact.
Working closely with stakeholders in the supply chain is an infamously complex process, but it can be made that much simpler using Supplier Collaboration & Innovation (SC&I) technology. This ensures strategic alignment between buyer and supplier and provides comprehensive relationship governance and real-time performance visibility. This allows companies and their suppliers to work on sustainability initiatives more cohesively and develop innovative ideas through collaboration.
Here at Vizibl – through our SC&I platform combined with our knowledge and expertise – we are helping large enterprise organisations in the energy sector better leverage their supplier relationships and move closer to meeting those lofty 2030 sustainability goals.


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Leon Charney, who helped bring some peace to the Middle East in the 1970s, hopes to bring light to Midtown Manhattan below 42nd Street.
Most New Yorkers know Charney for his role as an aide to President Jimmy Carter during the Camp David accords. But he’s also a significant real estate player. He is, for example, the sole owner of 1441 Broadway, a 37-story fashion showroom building at 41st Street, a block south of thriving Times Square.
Unlike some landlords nearby who have converted properties to dot-com or traditional office use, Charney is committed to maintaining 1441 as a capital building of the fashion industry.
Now he’s decided the tower – home to the likes of Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger Handbags and Ellen Tracy – can learn from Times Square’s way with bright lights.
As Times Square is the city’s best-illuminated area by night, the Fashion District – they don’t like to call it the “Garment District” any more – is among its darkest.
Now, though, Charney plans to hang colorful, rotating signs on 1441’s corners to promote the fashion names inside. “It’s a way of incorporating the fashion people into the Times Square district and give it more pizzazz,” Charney told The Post.
“The cameras are always on Times Square. Why not the fashion district? Signs would give it real identification.”
Charney said each sign should fetch $600,000 a year and you can’t blame him for wanting to exploit the building’s sign potential. He once owned One Times Square, the former office tower that today is nothing but a sign tower above the ground floor.


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(August 28, 2014) – Globally-popular children’s character “Hello Kitty” turns 40 this year — and with that birthday comes a surprise revelation.
Her creators say Hello Kitty is not a cat!
That’s according to Sanrio — the Japanese company that owns and manages the “Hello Kitty” brand.
The Los Angeles Times spoke with Christine R. Yano, an anthropologist from the University of Hawaii who has spent years studying the phenomenon that is Hello Kitty.
While Yano was preparing written texts for Hello Kitty’s 40th Anniversary, she described Hello Kitty as a cat.
And she was firmly corrected by Sanrio.
“Hello Kitty is not a cat. She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty,” said Yano
The Los Angeles Times reports that Hello Kitty’s name is actually Kitty White, and she has a full back story. She is the daughter of Mary White and George White, and she has a twin sister named Mimmy.
All this comes as Hello Kitty and friends prepares for a 40th anniversary party LA, at the Japanese American National Museum, starting in October.
Later that month, the first-ever Hello Kitty Con will draw fans from around the world to Los Angeles.


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Microsoft has announced the upcoming release of 12 security updates, nine of which are for Windows.
One of the two patches for Office is rated "critical", while the one for Exchange has an "important" rating.
The company is also releasing a non-security update for Windows and two for Windows Software, all rated "high priority".
The "critical" rating is reserved for flaws that could allow an Internet worm to replicate without the computer user's knowledge.
The software giant has also announced that it will no longer patch a critical security vulnerability in its Windows 98 and Millennium Edition operating systems.
When an update for other Microsoft products to fix the bug was released on 11 April, the company promised that a patch was forthcoming for the older software.
However, the company has now issued a bulletin that states: "After extensive investigation, Microsoft has found that it is not feasible to make the extensive changes necessary…to eliminate the vulnerability".
"We have found that these architectures will not support a fix for this issue now or in the future."
Support for Windows 98 and Millennium Edition is set to expire within a few months.
Security patches are available for download athere


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Providing electric lighting to some of the 1.3 billion people worldwide who lack access to electricity has been one of the chief goals of the development community in recent years. The World Bank, for example, wants to hook up 2.5 million Africans this year, by encouraging development of low-cost solar lamps. The goal is to lower costs, improve health, and cut carbon emissions. Kerosene lamps, a mainstay in the off-grid world, cost $38 billion annually–or about 1,000 times more than for the equivalent energy in fully gridded countries.
The problem with some low-cost solar lighting units, according to Simon Bransfield-Garth, is that they are not very low-cost, or, at least, not that affordable. The CEO of a new British startup called Eight19 estimates the average cost of solar systems that can light two rooms and charge a mobile phone at $70 to $80, not easily in reach for many. He also believes that simply giving away solar units creates problems. Charitable programs can stifle more sustainable services, he says, citing the work of Paul Polak, a leading inventor of low-cost products for the world’s poor.
Bransfield-Garth’s solution is a pay-as-you-go model for solar power that effectively self-subsidizes the introduction of electricity into people’s homes. Users pay between $5 to $10 up front for a solar cell, lamp, and control module, then buy additional power when they need it through a scratch-card system, much as with a cell phone. He says the service halves the cost of lighting and phone charging in Kenya, which he estimates at $9 to $12 a month, based on the price of kerosene, and what it costs to re-power a phone at a public charging station.
“The problem with solar power in [off-grid] markets is not that there is anything fundamentally wrong with the technology,” he says. “The problem is that individuals who are earning $3 or $4 a day don’t have $80. By offering it as a service, we are able to offer it at a lower cost than they are currently spending.” The added bonus with Eight19’s service is that it saves users from having to travel to charge their phone, and wasting time doing so.
The service, called IndiGo, is already available in Kenya, Zambia, and Malawi, and is being rolled out with the help of SolarAid, the NGO arm of one the U.K.’s largest solar companies, SolarCentury. It is currently using conventional solar panels, but plans to offer a more flexible printed plastic technology soon. Bransfield-Garth says that will further drive down the cost, though at the moment he doesn’t know how much.
Eight19, which gets its name from the time (8 minutes 19 seconds) it takes light to reach light from the Sun to reach Earth, is similar to Simpa Networks, another pay-as-you-go solar project we wrote about last year. The difference is that with Simpa users pay in installments for the unit as they use the service.


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September 16-20 in store and online
Our Campus Stores on all campuses will be closed on these upcoming dates. Click to learn more.
The last day the Dublin Campus Store will be open is Thursday, May 16, 2019.
Wednesday, May 15: International Family Day. Come celebrate International Family Day at the Campus Store! We will be extending a 25% off sale on all of our Mom, Dad, and Grandparent apparel and gift items! Monday, May 20: Hoodie Madness! Beginning today and extending through the end of the summer semester, enjoy 20% off all Continue reading
The MGA Campus Stores will be closed Monday, March 18th – Friday, March 22nd for inventory. They will reopen on Monday, March 25th.
All MGA Campus Stores are having a Nike sale! Customers can save 40% off on all non-clearance Nike items through Friday, February 15th. Customers can shop in-store or online.
This is a Campus Store reminder regarding your Financial Aid.
All Middle Georgia State University Campus Stores will be closed on Friday, December 14th for a staff meeting. Regular hours will resume on Monday, December 17th.
Beginning Monday, August 27th, the Dublin store hours will change to Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Don’t forget to visit the Campus Store to experience their newly competitive prices and MGA spiritware. Also, check out the new Campus Store website at http://campusstore.mga.edu and don’t forget that financial aid can be used for all store AND website purchases!


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Tanimura & Antle has hired Matt Roy as vice president of business development for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA).
Roy reports to Scott Grabau, CEO and president, according to a news release.
Roy’s first jobs in the industry was for a B&R Stores, where he was 10 years, 6 of them as produce manager. He has also been a produce buyer at Associated Wholesale Grocers, president of Harold Crawford Co. Inc., and senior director of produce at US Foods.
He has served on the Southeast Produce Council’s board of directors, and United Fresh Produce Association’s Wholesaler-Distributor Board. He is a graduate of United Fresh’s Industry Leadership Program.
At Tanimura & Antle, Roy will be creating new business for the company’s expanding line of greenhouse items, according to the release.
“Matt’s love for our industry, along with his leadership experience and involvement within the indoor growing industry will play a crucial role as we partner with our customers to define the greenhouse grown industry,” Grabau said in the release.
Tanimura & Antle plans to officially launch its greenhouse products at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Oct. 15-17 in Dallas, according to the release.
“I have been a longtime advocate of the controlled environment and urban agriculture space and have been fortunate to lead and be involved with multiple related projects during my career,” Roy said in the release.


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Specialty retailers have held market share better than big-box stores or mall anchors in recent years, insulated from the mass exodus out of brick-and-mortar operations into e commerce sales through a narrow focus on goods and services less easily found online or at competing retailers. As a result, many specialty plays have recently hit new highs while the broad sector struggles through a persistent downtrend.
Finding these stocks is as easy as sorting a list of sector components by price’s relative positioning above or below the 200-day EMA and seeing what floats to the top. Specialty leaders have to stay strong to outperform their peers, causing their stock prices to gain ground more quickly than underlying averages. In this case, the scan has output a diverse group of storefronts that include pawn shops and sporting goods stores, in addition to more traditional apparel operations.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS) gained a completive advantage in recent weeks, winning inventory and storefront rights to the now defunct Sports Authority. It continues to benefit from sub-sector consolidation, as evidenced by an 80% rally that’s now reached resistance going back to 2014. In fact, it faces little competition with other publically traded companies, except in specific Cabella’s (CAB) product lines.
The stock rallied above the 2007 high at $34.80 in 2011 and entered an uptrend that stalled in the lower $50s in the middle of 2012. It posted nominal new highs into the 2014 peak at $58.87 and sold off to the low $40s. A bounce into 2015 got sold at resistance, triggering a decline that ended at a four-year low in January 2016. The current advance into resistance shows solid volume support, with on-balance volume (OBV) hitting an all-time high, predicting that price will soon follow in a major breakout.
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) emerged as a sector leader in the last decade and has retained that title throughout this bull market cycle. Rally momentum eased in March 2015 after the stock pushed above $50, giving way to volatile price action that carved the outline of a megaphone pattern (red lines). It found support in the lower $40s in November and bounced to pattern resistance in March, with that level holding firm ahead of a higher low in June.
The stock returned to megaphone resistance this month and broke out, posting an all-time high at $66.28 after reporting strong earnings, and is now pulling back to test new support between $62 and $63. OBV has tracked positive price action, raising odds that support will hold and complete confirmation of a bullish trend advance that could reach the mid-$70s.
EZcorp Inc. (EZPW) operates more than 800 pawn shop and consumer loan outlets in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The stock topped out in the upper $30s in 2011 and entered a steep downtrend that coincided with a new batch of industry regulations, finally coming to rest at an 11-year low in February 2016. It’s gained considerable ground since that time, rising fourfold above $10.
The rally reached major resistance at the broken bear market low in July, giving way to a sideways pattern, ahead of this week’s rally to a 17-month high. However, the uptick still hasn’t cleared 2009 resistance so caution is advised until the stock prints a wide range buying spike above that level, signaling a breakout. Short sellers should also wish to follow short-term price action because a reversal could gather steam, dropping price into the unfilled July gap between $7.70 and $8.50.
The Bottom Line
The retail sector has been mired in a bear market for the last year but a basket of specialty retailers have swum against the downward tide, posting strong returns in line with unique competitive advantages.


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Chipmaker AMD has appointed Rory Read as its new president and chief executive, following the departure of Dirk Meyer at the start of this year.
Read joins AMD from PC maker Lenovo, where he served as president and chief operating officer. Prior to that, he held a number of management positions at IBM.
"I'm very pleased to be joining AMD at this important time in its history. AMD is a true innovator and is uniquely positioned to lead the industry forward, delivering the next big thing within the PC ecosystem and beyond," Read said in a statement issued by the firm.
Meyer, who occupied the post of chief executive since 2008, resigned in a mutual agreement with AMD's board of directors. Reports at the time hinted of differences of opinion between the two parties over the future direction of the company.
The appointment comes as AMD faces challenging times. The company is seeking broader industry acceptance of its Fusion processor chips, launched early this year, which integrate a CPU and GPU onto the same piece of silicon.
In the meantime, rival Intel has been going from strength to strength with its latest generation of Core processors.
However, many industry commentators have already begun criticising the choice of an executive from the PC industry, when future growth looks increasingly likely to come from mobile devices, tablets and other new form factors.
AMD faces competition here not only from Intel, but from ARM, which has decades of experience in designing processors for battery-powered mobile kit.
Cotton seedling freezes to death as Chang'e-4 shuts down for the Moon's 14-day lunar night
Fortnite easily out-earns PUBG, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018
Meteor showers as a service will be visible for about 100 kilometres in all directions
Saturn's rings only formed in the past 100 million years, suggests analysis of Cassini space probe data
New findings contradict conventional belief that Saturn's rings were formed along with the planet about 4.5 billion years ago


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Fred. Olsen’s new partnership with the EIBA means that the cruise line will be supporting national televised indoor bowling events nationwide, as well as undertaking local activity with EIBA members across the country.
Peter Thompson, chief executive of the English Indoor Bowling Association, said: 'To secure Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines as an official partner is a tremendous coup and will provide a massive boost for the association and the sport. Not only will they be promoting their cruises to indoor bowlers throughout the country, they genuinely want to help the sport develop at grass roots level by promoting indoor bowls to their customers.'
Keith Norman, business development manager for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: 'There is a natural link between our customer base and the indoor bowling community, and we look forward to growing a successful and mutually-beneficial partnership with this leading sports governing body and its 300 affiliated Clubs.
'We know that many of our guests on board our ships enjoy indoor bowling and, similarly, many indoor bowlers enjoy cruising, so a partnership with the EIBA felt a natural fit.,' he remarked.


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As every year, we also saw the magnificent, grandiose CeBIT, full of aura and fireworks.
Luxurious and luxurious stalls, supercomputers displaying their work on giant screens, sophisticated marketing people and quite a few exciting product launches, were all part of the world's largest exhibition, which this year featured no less than 5,845. The data indicate that the interest in companies in Savit is decreasing from year to year, after the low point in the exhibition last year, which showed slightly more than 77 companies in 6,000 different halls. The organizers of the event this year learned the lessons and as a result reduced the exhibition to six days instead of seven, and even reduced the number of halls - 36 compared to 23 last year. The move proved to be successful in terms of visitors, which grew by 36 last year, despite the cut during the show.
This year's event marked the preservation of the environment. In almost every pavilion we visited, there was a banner proudly proclaiming some innovative technology that would revolutionize energy consumption or heat emissions. It is clear that the Al Gore revolution has breached new borders and has reached the field of computerization and technology, and in response, the manufacturers are making great efforts and resources for the cause. However, only time will tell whether this is indeed a real revolution or a populist current trend that the corporations are taking advantage of. We will leave the interpretation to you, readers, and we will not enter into the thick of ourselves, but we will only point out the irony that the desire to keep the ball green while criticism from the outside and inside is directed at the production processes in the East, the lack of supervision and exploitation of workers.
Another growing trend is exposure to overclocking and modem. Overclocking experts have been recruited by a number of companies for one purpose - breaking world records with well-known Benchmarking software and by attracting customers to the pavilion. While in recent years we have seen how this trend is intensifying, this time it has become a fascinating and side-by-side phenomenon. Modding enthusiasts, too, have not been disadvantaged, and some manufacturers have collaborated with professionals who have done art and have provided communications to those who are interested in a customized package.
'Green Computing Village' in the middle of the exhibition
Despite the great response from consumers and the press, manufacturers did not share the same enthusiasm for the event. Although 495,000 visitors came from 100,000 to other countries, the number of loud launches and press conferences was smaller than ever. Only the AMD launch event, which impressed her presence at the event after a mysterious dry spell, can be noted for billing. The major competitors NVIDIA And Intel chose not to launch similar launches, despite the fact that in the coming weeks we are expected to get to know their new products, most of which were even presented in the exhibition through the hardware manufacturers. The rumors all around suggest that many manufacturers do not see the need for such a large investment in a costly event in Europe. We assume that it was precisely the arrogance that prevented the two large participants from participating actively in the event, since at this stage they feel that there is a lull in the perpetual race and that time can be used to reorganize the future.
The organizers of the event saw that good and next year the exhibition will be spread over six days only. While we are heading for the equally interesting Computex, we expect that next year we will also report directly to you from the world's largest exhibition in Hanover, Germany. Until the next time, the HWzone team wishes all readers a further fruitful technological year.


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Home Centre launches ‘room makeover’ contest
Dubai, September 16, 2013
Home Centre, a leading home shopping destination in the region, has announced the third edition of its annual ‘Room Makeover’ contest.
Featuring a creative twist, this year’s contest that will give away transformations worth Dh250,000 ($68,000) is set to go live for participation on September 17 across five GCC countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
Unlike the earlier editions when participants were asked to showcase their poorly made rooms and justify their need for a makeover, this year the entries will be invited to challenge Home Centre to transform their personal spaces to reflect the contestants’ unique personalities.
The contest will select 25 winners from across the region that will each be given dramatic room makeovers worth Dh10,000 in the UAE, KD1,000 ($3,510) in Kuwait, RO1,000 ($2,590) in Oman, SR10,000 ($2,665) in Saudi Arabia, and QR10,000 ($2,698) in Qatar.
Aarti Jagtiani, general manager, Home Centre, said: “With every passing year, we wish to make the Home Centre Room Makeover competition bigger and better. This year, the contest will give away a larger number of makeovers and add a creative twist to make the activity even more exciting.”
“Our brand is all about people and how each home is unique. This year, it is up to the participants to challenge Home Centre to recreate a room in a style that reflects their distinctive personalities.
“This refreshing change in the contest mechanics will help us connect with our customers across the region to closely understand their varied and evolving choices. Once again, we are eagerly looking forward to this annual activity that offers us the opportunity to give back to the community,” Jagtiani added.
Participants are invited to participate on Home Centre’s website (homecentrestores.com) and the brand’s Facebook page – (facebook.com/homecentrestores).
A simple, personality-based, multiple-choice questionnaire has to be answered for a chance to win a unique room makeover. Following the collation of entries, the shortlisted participants will be requested to upload pictures of the room they wish to makeover. These entries will go through an exciting phase of voting and sharing.
Three of the top voted entries will win instant room makeovers. An additional 50 most deserving entries will be shortlisted and reviewed by experts from Home Centre to select the rest of the 22 winners. – TradeArabia News Service


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Sudden surge in cotton futures catches investors by surprise
There is a sufficient available stock in the country coupled with reports of higher acreage estimates in India
Government mulls Rs 160/quintal hike in cotton MSP for 2017-18
For the ongoing 2016-17 crop year, MSP of medium staple cotton has been fixed at Rs 3,860 per quintal and long staple cotton at Rs 4,160.
Commodity weekly wrap: Cotton, sugar witness upside movement
Cotton prices climbed by around 2% to Rs 21020 per bale from Rs 20560 per bale from Monday.
Parents, take note! Cotton buds may be dangerous for your children
Using cotton tip applicators to clean the ear canal not only pushes wax closer to the ear drum, but there is a significant risk of injury.
Cotton imports up 20% since October
Atul Asher, honorary secretary, Indian Cotton Federation, said Indian traders and mills had contracted imports of 7 lakh bales (one bale is 170 kg) in the five months since October 1, 2016, the start of the cotton year.
Cotton turns 'white gold' after highest productivity in Punjab
This kharif season the cotton acreage is expected to jump over four-lakh hectares in Punjab after two-years of consecutive decline in area due to extensive damage caused by whitefly.
Good supply, strong rupee keep domestic cotton prices stable
“Arrivals of cotton have accelerated their pace during March 2017," said CAI.
Welspun India Ltd enters into an agreement with Cotton Egypt Association
Under the agreement, the two organisations will work together to create programmes for promotion of Egyptian Cotton logo in the retail markets.
Cotton comes under pressure on higher arrivals, sufficient stocks
On the MCX, the cotton April delivery contract has tumbled 5% from its March high of Rs 21,740 to the current levels of Rs 20,690.
Expect cotton prices to moderate by the end of April: Altaf Jiwani, Welspun India Ltd
In an exclusive chat with ET Now, Altaf Jiwani, CFO, Welspun India Ltd, said that the compaby incurred a loss of $100 million or 10% of total revenue from target.
2016 cotton production up by 1%; CAI
CAI, which mainly represents cotton traders, has released its December estimate of the cotton crop for the 2016-17 season beginning from 1st October 2016.
Weekly commodity report: Cotton, turmeric prices fall; sugar, coriander rise
In the non agri-commodity space, uncertainty continued for gold prices.
India cotton imports set to surge to record amid rampant rupee
The strong rupee - now at its highest level in 18 months - has also braked cotton exports from the world's biggest producer of the fibre.
Indian mills import cotton as local prices trend high
The move is both a reaction to trends this year and an insurance against price fluctuations in the last.
Cotton Association Of India projects 345 lakh bales cotton production for 2016-17
The production of cotton in the country which had reached a record high of over four crore bales during the 2013-14 crop year fell to about 386 lakh in 2014-15.


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Last month was a smashing success for Maryland’s fledgling cannabis market. The state reported an astonishing $87 million in sales this past July, the first full month of legal recreational cannabis sales statewide. This staggering sum speaks volumes about the long-standing desire for legalized cannabis among Marylanders. The rapid surge in consumer interest surpassed most market predictions, solidifying Maryland’s position at the forefront of the national cannabis movement.
Flower, including bud and pre-rolled joints, represented the largest chunk of Maryland’s legal cannabis sales so far, generating a striking $52.6 million in July alone. Concentrates, including highly-popular vape products, were the second-most popular category, followed by edibles. Interestingly, initial reports show more sales of concentrates and edibles closer to the D.C. metropolitan area. This could be because of a higher concentration of government employees looking for a more discreet high.
In the broader marijuana legalization landscape, Maryland’s debut is particularly impressive in relation to other states’ inaugural months of recreational sales. New Jersey and New Mexico, which both boast strong weed markets, generated roughly $24 million and $22 million, respectively, in their first months post-legalization. With around $2.8 million in average daily sales in July, Maryland’s persistent consumer demand hints at the potential for even more impressive figures.
How Does Maryland’s Legalization Rollout Compare with Other States?
The resounding success in Maryland’s early cannabis days contrasts sharply with the rollouts in other states, such as New York and Virginia.
At the start of the cannabis legalization process in both states, weed was legalized for personal use before a clear framework for commercial production or sale was established. This meant that while residents could legally possess and consume cannabis, they didn’t always have regulated vendors to purchase from. Without licensed dispensaries or an efficient regulatory structure, many people turned to alternative sources for cannabis.
“Gray market” vendors cropped up to fill the vacuum and meet consumer demand. These vendors operated under personal possession and gifting laws, often skirting the line of legality. Some offered cannabis as a “gift” accompanying other purchases or used other creative workarounds to circumvent the lack of a legal sales framework. But without regulatory oversight, these gray market practices blurred the distinction between legal personal use and illicit sales, leaving consumers with no assurance of product safety or quality.
On the other hand, Virginia’s relatively seamless transition plan allowed established medical license holders to branch into recreational sales and ensured comprehensive supply chain regulation from day one. The pre-existing infrastructure meant consumers had no second-guessing. They knew where to turn for their cannabis needs, leading to seamless transactions and a fluid introduction.
Economic Impacts of Cannabis Legalization in Maryland
Allowing medical license holders to transition to recreational sales seamlessly gave Maryland’s marijuana market an excellent head start. But the state’s intelligent taxation approach also played a pivotal role in its success.
A modest nine percent tax rate kept prices competitive and prevented pushing consumers toward the black market due to price hikes. This strategic move not only solidified the foundation for legal sales but also played a key role in accumulating valuable tax revenue for the state. In July alone, Maryland’s coffers grew by a healthy $4.61 million, solely from cannabis-related sales and use tax.
Based on the sales figures from July, experts suggest Maryland is poised for a potential financial windfall. If Maryland’s dispensaries continue generating as much monthly revenue as they did in July, the state could exceed $1 billion in sales in its first full year of legalization. This projection seems ever more likely given an expanding consumer base, heightened regulatory protections, and the dynamic evolution of cannabis product offerings.
Equity and Diversity in Maryland’s Cannabis Industry
While Maryland’s legalization rollout has clearly surpassed financial expectations, the state still has work to do to meet its social justice objectives. In 2016, when Maryland issued its first medical marijuana sales licenses, not one Black business leader was approved. And although subsequent rounds of licensing attempted to make up for the oversight, this rocky start created an unequal foundation that hurts minority business owners to this day.
Reports indicate that only half of Maryland’s minority-owned cannabis businesses have received full licensure since 2016. That means those businesses didn’t have the same leg-up as existing medical marijuana vendors, who were allowed to transition almost seamlessly to recreational sales upon legalization. If and when these latecomers get fully licensed, they will then face the uphill battle of contending with numerous established competitors.
Looking forward, Maryland is planning a new round of race-blind licensing, though with a preferential tilt toward applicants from zip codes that suffered most under previous marijuana criminalization laws. This pronounced focus on social equity is meant to level the playing field, allowing minority entrepreneurs an equal shot at success.
The Long Road to Legalization: A Brief History
The journey toward cannabis legalization has been long and winding, punctuated by moments of hope, setbacks, and critical turning points. In the early 20th century, the U.S. viewed cannabis with suspicion. Propaganda like the infamous 1936 film Reefer Madness stigmatized its use, culminating in the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, which effectively criminalized the plant nationwide.
By the 1970s, the tides began to shift. Social and cultural movements questioned the stringent laws, leading to the decriminalization of cannabis in some states. Medical marijuana emerged as a groundbreaking concept in the 1990s, and California became the first state to legalize medicinal use in 1996. This marked a pivotal shift as the benefits of cannabis for patients with chronic illnesses became more widely acknowledged.
The 21st century saw accelerated momentum. Colorado and Washington set historic precedents in 2012 by becoming the first states to legalize recreational use. Today, numerous states have followed suit by decriminalizing, permitting medicinal use, or fully legalizing cannabis. Despite this progress, challenges persist at the federal and societal levels. The road to acceptance and understanding remains a work in progress, reflecting the complex tapestry of politics, culture, and science.
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December 19, 2018
Voting is now open for The Recycler Live Awards 2019, which will be presented at The Recycler Live Awards evening on Sunday 27 January 2019, during Paperworld 2019 at Messe Frankfurt.
The categories for the awards are Remanufacturer of the Year, Supplier of the Year, Reseller of the Year, Collector of the Year, Customer Service of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year and Rising Star of the Year.
Among the nominees for Remanufacturer of the Year is wta Carsten Weser GmbH, which scored a hattrick of awards, gaining its third such accolade last year, and who is now potentially in the running for a fourth. Some of the other industry stalwarts who have also been nominated for this award include Static Control Components (Europe) Ltd and Armor SAS.
Gaining the list of nominees for Supplier of the Year is first-time entrant and OEM, KYOCERA Document Solutions Europe, rubbing shoulders with CiT BV, Intelet’s new partner and distributor, and Poland’s Biuromax, among other well-known industry figures.
CiT and Biuromax are also on the list for Customer Service of the Year, and the Polish company has been nominated for its marketing campaign as well, which involved using social media and display marketing.
To cast your vote for your industry favourite, click the button below.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony held in the seminar area of Hall 5.1 at 5:30 pm on 27th January 2019 during Paperworld 2019. Voting closes at midnight on 26th January 2019.
Categories : Around the Industry


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The year in Scottish business: Distilleries raise a toast as high street closes shutters
For workers in some of Scotland’s towns and cities 2018 will go down as a dark year.
The closure of major food manufacturing operations, such as 2 Sisters in Cambuslang and the Pinney’s site in Annan, cost hundreds of jobs in communities where those positions are not easily replaced.
The situation for the 850 people employed at Michelin’s Dundee plant also looks bleak even as various government agencies scramble to find some way to preserve the factory.
The high street remains a tough place to do business with many retail chains and restaurant groups falling by the wayside. And even when rescue packages are put together it does not always mean jobs are saved as the 120 people who used to work at House of


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Where We Are
CGS Named to the 2017 Global Outsourcing 100®
Recognized among the world’s best outsourcing services providers for second consecutive year
CGS Completes Banner Year for BlueCherry® Customer Wins
Our BlueCherry® Enterprise Suite saw significant growth in companies selecting and implementing its solution in 2016. We added more than 25 brands with thousands of end users globally to its fashion apparel, footwear and consumer lifestyle products community. The CGS team of experts and its BlueCherry suite are supporting brands that are manufactured or sold throughout various countries on nearly every continent, throughout the world.
CGS Chile Recognized with 2016 Omil and Empresas Award from Sence Metropolitano
Business Process Outsourcing services honored for its employee training
Webinars & Events
CGS to Sponsor and Participate in Apparel Magazine Fashion Data and Actionable Intelligence Webinar
CGS will sponsor and participate in Apparel Magazine webinar titled "
CGS to Exhibit at Texprocess Americas 2016
CGS will be in attendance at Texprocess Americas, which is taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, May 3-5, 2016. CGS, which will be exhibiting at booth #617 in Hall B1, will be showcasing the latest ex
CGS Participates in and Sponsors IDG webinar on Remote Monitoring and Maintenance
Michael Brandi, Vice President, Technology Outsourcing, CGS, to join IDG editor on webinar panel


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Don’t become a victim of auto crime.
The statistics in BC the past year show a 4.4% increase in auto theft outside of Metro Vancouver. On the island there was a 16.1% increase in theft from auto in 2019 over the previous year. One just has to take a look at our latest Crime Report to understand their is a risk of auto crime in our neighbourhood. What can you do to prevent auto crime from happening to you?


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MetaMask, a popular Ethereum wallet interface that lets users manage their ether and ERC-20 tokens developed by ConsenSys, has recently announced it’s set to release a mobile app, a move various users have been waiting for.
The move was revealed at DevCon, an Ethereum-focused conference hosted by large organizations involved in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, including Ernst & Young, Microsoft, ShapeShift, and Blockfolio.
During the event, the MetaMask development team showcased the wallet’s mobile wallets for both Android and iOS. Joseph Lubin, the founder and CEO of ConsenSys, a blockchain software firm with over 1,100 employees, shared the development on Twitter.
The @metamask_io mobile app was just announced at #Devcon4! Everyone's favorite #Ethereum browser extension is coming to your phone. The team is focusing on not being 'just a wallet', but a portal to the world of all things #blockchain. https://t.co/3bvQXuF8gV pic.twitter.com/vcaIkkzcVS
— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) October 31, 2018
So far, MetaMask has only been available as a browser extension for Google Chrome, Firefox, and the crypto-funded Brave browser. Since it was launched in early 2016, users have been asking for the wallet to be available on mobile devices.
Lubin’s words imply MetaMask’s mobile app won’t just let users hold their ERC-20 tokens, but will also allow them to interact with the so-called web 3.0 – with decentralized applications (dApps) built on top of ETH.
This means the app could serve as a type of store for decentralized applications, that’s set to allow users to run dApps like the popular CryptoKitties game on their mobile devices. It isn’t, however, the only one allowing users to do that.
Other DApp Browsers
There are currently a few dApp browsers available on the market, including some backed by large organizations. Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, in its first-ever acquisition, bought the Trust Wallet, a mobile wallet that supports Ethereum’s ether (ETH), as well as GoChain (GO), Wanchain (WAN), Ethereum Classic (ETC), POA Network, (POA) VeChain (VET), and now TRON (TRX).
Coinbase also has its own cryptocurrency wallet and dApp browser, the Coinbase Wallet. Back in August, the wallet gained its name after Toshi rebranded to it. It’s set to also support other popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and litecoin.
Earlier this year, Opera introduced a mobile browser for Android devices with a built-in cryptocurrency wallet. While at first it only supported ETH and ERC-20 tokens, it later on added support for crypto-collectibles. A version of the wallet has been added to its desktop browser.


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LAHORE, July 30: The Agritech has filed a petition with National Industrial Relations Commission to allow the company to lay off its thousands of workers.
The company has informed the commission that production at the factory at Iskandarabad has been curtailed to the lowest minimum on account non-supply of Sui Gas, which is the only raw material required for manufacturing urea.
As a result of non-supply of Sui Gas, production of fertiliser has been severely curtailed and the plant could only produce 149,071 tons of urea during 2011 against its capacity of 430,000 tons.
In 2012, the production till June 30 was 69,327 tons (or 30 per cent) of its capacity, whereas production in July is nil and there are no indications of gas supply restoration.
Agritech in its petition further stated that the petitioner company is sustaining huge financial losses. In the last 18 months, the company has suffered an accumulated loss of around Rs1.6 billion. The company has taken out heavy loans from the banks and is unable to pay back the loans because of financial crisis, despite the fact they were restructured last year.
The petition further says that under such conditions, it is impossible to run the factory at Iskandarabad without incurring further losses, which is not financially possible for the company.


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Oman Air has announced a partnership with globally renowned British car manufacturer Aston Martin which will see the Middle Eastern carrier bring the marquee’s yet-to-be-launched Lagonda to Muscat as part of its early testing programme.
Reviving the iconic Lagonda name from Aston Martin’s renowned heritage, the brand new car is a top-of-the-range, luxury four-door super-saloon which has been designed exclusively for the Middle East market – and Oman’s awe-inspiring mountains, deserts and state-of-the-art road network are providing the perfect backdrop for essential summer heat testing.
Oman Air general manager, marketing, Mohammed Al Shikely, announced the partnership earlier.
He said: “Oman Air has developed an enviable global reputation as a luxury airline that offers innovation and the highest quality in every aspect of its operations, so we are the perfect partner to assist Aston Martin in heat-testing its stunning new Lagonda.”
Al Shikely added: “Furthermore, our highly professional cargo division offers all the expertise needed to deliver the car from its factory in the UK to Oman, and back again in perfect condition once the testing has been completed.
“And once the Lagonda begins its testing programme, Oman’s landscapes, autumn heat and superbly-maintained highways will enable Aston Martin’s engineers to really put the car through its paces.
“We are delighted to be working with Aston Martin on this project and look forward to seeing the Lagonda snapped up by the region’s discerning drivers who I am sure will also be amazed by the exceptional beauty Oman, the testing ground of the Lagonda, offers them as a unique destination to visit.”
Aston Martin says the car, which designer Marek Reichmann has created as ‘exceptional automotive art’, will only be produced in limited numbers and all purchases will be through invitation only for its Middle Eastern customers.
The Lagonda will, therefore, be an unbelievably rare commodity.


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[CES 2013] While CES doesn’t officially begin until Tuesday, many press announcements and unveils related to the show have already begun. One of these announcements comes from Vizio, who has now announced plans for their first Windows 8 tablet.
The Vizio Tablet is an 11.6-inch slate that will pack a dual-core 1GHz AMD z60 processor, a 1080p display and 2GB of RAM. Other specs include 64GB SSD storage, 2MP front cam, micro-HDMI, and micro-USB.
One of the biggest negative to Windows hardware over the years is that many vendors choose to fill their devices up with tons of bloatware that make them slow and, well, annoying.
The good news here is that the Vizio Tablet PC has a “Microsoft Signature” software install. For those that don’t know, that means it is a clean installation with no added bloatware. This is perfect for consumers looking for a pure Windows 8 experience without vendor-specific add-ons like start menus and vendor software.
An AMD processor and 1080p display certainly sounds like a unique match. So when is it coming? Unfortunately we have no specific launch date or even pricing at this point. Would you consider an AMD-based Windows 8 tablet if the price was right?
[ source ]


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Nestlé has agreed to sell its Canadian Pure Life bottled water business to private bottled water company Ice River Springs for an undisclosed sum.
The deal includes two factories located in Puslinch, Ontario and Hope, British Columbia, along with a well in Erin, Ontario.
The agreement closely follows Nestlé’s announcement last month to explore the sale of ‘the majority’ of its Nestlé Waters North America unit, including its regional spring water brands, the Nestlé Pure Life brand and the ReadyRefresh beverage delivery service.
Nestlé stressed that its recent transaction is now independent of the North American strategic review, which remains ongoing.
“In late 2019, we began the exploration of a potential sale of our Nestlé Pure Life business in Canada, as we had determined that we are best positioned to focus on our iconic international brands of San Pellegrino, Perrier and Acqua Panna,” said Jeff Hamilton, president and CEO of Nestlé Canada.
Earlier this month, Nestlé’s Sanpellegrino Group water subsidiary offloaded the Nestlé Vera bottled water brand to Aqua Vera Spa, a new company established by the owners of PET container manufacturers Sicon.
Founded in 1995, Ice River Springs is a Canadian family-owned, private label bottled water producer for retailers and manufacturer of the Ice River Green brand.
According to the official press release, the acquisition enables Ice River Springs to expand its offering in Canada beyond private label.
“This is a significant step in our strategic sustainability journey and with the addition of this iconic brand, their skilled and dedicated people across the country and the resources of this business, we will continue our commitment to sustainable bottled water, the circular economy and to hydrating Canadians,” said Sandy Gott, executive VP and co-owner of Ice River Springs.
The transaction is subject to regulatory review and is expected to close in Q3 2020. Until completion of the review process, Nestlé Canada will continue to run its Pure Life business.
By: Emma Upshallon
Source: Food Bev Media
After eight years with Nestlé, François-Xavier Roger, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), has decided to leave the company to pursue new professional challenges, making way for finance boss Anna Manz. Meanwhile, Unilever announced that Graeme Pitkethly, CFO, will retire by the end of May 2024, and the hunt is on for his successor.
International spirits company Bacardi Limited has announced the appointment of Alicia Enciso to its board of directors. Enciso joins with more than 30 years of experience with multinational Fortune 100 Companies in the food and beverage sector with roles as general manager, president, chief marketing officer and e-business officer.
According to Innova Market Insights, when it comes to beverages, consumers are willing to pay more for what they value most, despite rising inflation. Additionally, consumers want brands that respond to their core values and have the benefits they seek, such as sustainability and functional ingredients.


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Fighting for all things good in the world, here come the latest recruits to the Star Guardian core. On Wednesday June 22, League of Legends revealed a new batch of Star Guardian skins for several champions. Ekko, Kai’Sa and Sona are lucky ones this time around. Also in the trailer is a new skin for Fiddlesticks, which looks to be a darker take on the Star Guardian line. Maybe the scarecrow actually made it to the team, much like the other unlikely member Urgot.
For this batch of skins, it looks like Ekko will receive the prestige edition of the skin. Typically with new releases only one champion will receive a legendary version, so it appears that Ekko is the winner in the prestige lottery.
— League of Legends (@LeagueOfLegends) June 22, 2022
The recent increase of Star Guardian skins comes alongside the new Star Guardian event. Earlier in the week Riot Games release a new teaser trailer promoting the upcoming in-game event. The event will be similar to other thematic events in the past, like the recent Highnoon event and the Sentinels of Light event last year. The event is sure to be packed to the brim with Star Guardian themed icons and emotes, as well as the Star Guardian skins.
The new event will hit the live servers July 14. The new update will more than likely also feature a brand new champion Nilah. Nilah joins the game at just the right time, as she will also be wearing the Star Guardian uniform along with her base skin on release.
Featured image courtesy of Riot Games
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook! And make sure to follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other TGH writers.
Follow Bryan on Twitter @esportsbrock for more updates on Overwatch, VALORANT, and the LCS


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Over four million vehicles on the roads in Britain, reveals SMMT
The number of vehicles registered for use on British roads has surpassed 40 million for the first time, according to data by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). More than 35 million cars and five million commercial vehicles were in use in the UK in 2019, representing a 1.0% increase on the previous year.
Light commercial vehicles saw the biggest percentage growth, rising 2.7% on the previous year to 4,527,724 units, surging by 28% in the last decade2. Passenger cars, meanwhile, increased 0.8% to 35,168,259 over the same period, as the number of heavy goods vehicles grew by 0.4% to 607,998 – the largest number delivering for Britain since 1990.
Many of these vehicles are helping to provide transport for essential workers, deliveries and emergency services. Some 25,000 ambulance and fire service vehicles, together with more than 20,000 supermarket delivery trucks and lorries3 are keeping the nation safe, supermarket shelves stocked, and the flow of food, medicine and care to vulnerable people going during the coronavirus crisis. Equally crucial to keeping the cogs turning are the garages that have kept their doors open to ensure these vehicles remain safe and operational during this time of need.
The data also reveals that the UK’s 40 million-strong fleet now includes more than three quarters of a million low, ultra-low and zero emission cars. The number of these cars grew by 26% last year, with 532,603 hybrids, 144,335 plug-in hybrids and 92,913 battery electric vehicles now in use, although this segment still makes up just 2.2% of the overall car parc. Meanwhile the number of diesel cars in use fell marginally by -0.9% to 13,723,299, accounting for 39% of the parc, while petrol cars grew by 1.2% to 20,657,838.


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NJ Car Dealers Beat Fraud Suits, Lack Of Harm Cited
By Ryan Boysen (July 27, 2018, 11:05 PM EDT) -- The New Jersey Appellate Division on Friday refused to revive four putative class actions against car dealerships over alleged violations of a state consumer protection law, finding the consumers could not pursue their claims because they had not been harmed by the clauses in the sale, lease and rental documents.
The four suits alleged that a handful of dealerships and rental agencies violated the New Jersey Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act by making their customers sign contracts that included conditions followed by disclaimers such as "unless prohibited by law." The four cases were consolidated on appeal.
In Friday's 23-page opinion,...
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Third quarter revenue rise and profits add shine to its switches
Plus added 3PAR flash seasoning
Look at the shiny Windows 8.1, why can't you people talk about 8.1, sobs an exec somewhere
Paid-for apps that provide free downloads? Really
Comment Cloud, all-flash kit, object storage slicing away at titans of storage
ANOTHER pricy project to prop up barely used G-Cloud?
Review Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3.0 tablet sees its UK release on 28 August. But why is the Surface fondleslab called Surface?
Think of HP, and what comes to mind? Business critical systems? Printers? Software? Lord no – it's laptops and bog-standard servers ruling the company's roost right now.
Whippersnapper gulps down initial funding, greedily tucks into second helping
US electronics division slurps heating and A/C distie Quietside
Analysis HTC gave Microsoft a huge PR coup yesterday during the New York unveiling of the most stylish Windows Phone ever made. Redmond could certainly use some good news right now.
Up until now there hasn't been an objective or standard way of comparing different suppliers' big data systems performance. The Transaction Processing Council (TPC) is remedying that with its TPCx-HS benchmark.
Hey, you wanna SSD with that graphics card, man?
Dedupe for the little guy, not just the tech titan
Review Shaves price, not screen on mid-2014 model
Bring your own disks to its object appliances
Small print: They want 300 of you lovely people
Youngjohns reveals plan to harden up software sales
Now all that remains is for gov't offices to ban the boxes
Rimini's wrong on Oracle database licence, says judge
Korean chaebol nabs home automation platform for rumoured $200m
Fiscal 2015 pain includes severance pay and benefits
Firm plans to pull direct reps' sales tool
Online bazaar's Braintree subsidiary chatting up Coinbase and others
Mmm, drink from our delicious fountain o' cash, partners
What ... you don't know where my borked slab's gone?
Declassified documents from America's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) shows that even the NSA didn't know the limits of what it was supposed to collect, and overstepped its authorisations for years.
Apple has published its own employee diversity report – and the numbers aren't particularly different from those of other big tech firms.
The former chief financial officer of Autonomy has struck back against HP's claims that he defrauded it and its shareholders, arguing that HP's execs were solely responsible for bungling the company's $10.2bn acquisition of Autonomy in 2011.
Analysis The head of EMC's Advanced Software Division – the man behind the storage giant's ViPR technology – has become an advisor to EMC CEO David Goulden. We'll explain why this is a big deal.
Pressure to perform for stock market bearing down on disties
Anything that simple to use has got to be complex to set up
Channel firms should choose vendor weapons wisely
This time, Larry's Oracle is going after the networking giants
The Internet of Stuff is a HUGE LIABILITY
Bezos behemoth is tottering at the top
No email? No CRM? No Daily Mail iPad edition? You need a plan
Sinofsky's hybrid strategy looks dafter than ever
Failure to crack next-gen semiconductors threatens to set back humanity
SMEs get lip service - what they need is dinner at the Club
Vorsprung durch grossendatatechnik, as we like to say in Germany
Big Blue exec tells El Reg what to keep an eye on


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‘Little People, Big World’: Fans Slam Audrey Roloff for Promoting ‘Toxic’ Cleaning Products
Audrey Roloff is catching heat for her latest post on Instagram. On June 29, the former Little People, Big World star shared a post promoting Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. But the ad had some of her followers up in arms. They criticized the mom of two for encouraging people to use “toxic” cleaning products, especially since she’s talked in the past about ditching chemicals and living a more natural life.
The ‘Little People, Big World’ star says she swears by this product
Roloff has her hands full as the mom of two young kids. To help keep her house sparkling, she says she turns to the Mr. Clean erasers.
“Dear moms, if you don’t have one of these on hand at all times in your kitchen… you’re missing out!” she wrote. Roloff added that the erasers keep her quartz counters and farmhouse sink free of stains and are even able to clean up permanent marker incidents.
Roloff’s mother-in-law Amy Roloff also chimed in to praise the erasers. “It works great,” she commetend. “[I] use it often on tough stains in my kitchen and bathroom.”
Fans aren’t happy with Audrey Roloff’s Instagram post
Audrey Roloff might be taken with the Magic Erasers, but a number of her followers were disappointed to see her shilling a product they saw as potentially harmful.
“Is this not the opposite of clean products in your home? I’m so confused,” one wrote.
“You are anti-plastic and anti-chemicals but endorse this?” wrote another baffled commenter.
One person said the magic erasers were “dangerous to kids.” Another claimed “they will peel paint off your walls.”
Several critics also pointed out that Roloff is heavily involved in Young Living, a multi-level marketing company that says its products can help people “create a toxin-free household.” Roloff promotes Young Living’s essential oils, cleaning products, and personal care products on a separate Instagram account, @morethanoils, which has nearly 84,000 followers.
Roloff has said becoming pregnant with her first child inspired her to take a closer look at the products she had in her home. “We ditched all our toxic cleaning chemicals and personal care products and switched to safe non-toxic YL alternatives,” she explained in an Instagram post.
Roloff defends herself
Roloff was quick to defend her use of the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. In a follow-up comment, she shared an article about the ingredients in the Magic Eraser, how they work, and whether they are safe to use.
In another comment, she pointed out that the sponges, which are made from melamine foam, don’t contain “harsh chemicals just a really abrasive material!”
“We use it sparingly but it’s so helpful in times of need!!!!” she wrote when replying to another comment.
While some people were concerned about the safety of the Magic Erasers, many other commenters said they, like Roloff, swear by them to clean up tough messes.
“I love those magic erasers,” one wrote. “They get things clean that no amount of scrubbing can manage!”